October 28, 2016

Epiphyte @ Neil Road ~ A Café For Galaxy Cakes And Edible Terrariums

Epiphyte is conveniently located along Neil Road, occupying a shophouse unit that has been transformed into a café space conceptualized to combine food, art and nature.

That's why upon stepping in, you'd see art pieces from the owner's personal collection hanging on the walls. There is also an indoor garden where orchids bloom and natural daylight streams in through the airwell. So lovely.

Not forgetting the food of course. We definitely have to check out the Terrarium ($8, dark rum +$3) which is artistically designed to fit into theme.

Each element actually worked well together to give that enjoyable textural contrast. I was initially hesitant about the optional dark rum but the addition of alcohol really oomph up the flavors.

Must Instagram the pouring shot! Lol!

And there is also the Twilight ($10), another Instagram-worthy dessert that has found fame on social media.

We all hanker after that stunning mirror-glazed galaxy cake which seemed to be reflecting soft glowing light from the sky.

Not just a good looker, the cake with Cointreau orange curd, chocolate sponge, and marbling chocolate mousse proved to be winning in taste as well. Its balance was ideally right without being too rich, and the orange curd provided a refreshing zest which complemented the chocolate delightfully.

Epiphyte offers a savory menu as well. The selection might not be extensive, but contains decent options for light bites, pasta and a couple of mains.

A Set Lunch of Pasta with Mixed Seafood is at $14, while Baked Chicken with Jewel Cous Cous is at only $12. Each set comes with either Salad with Goma Dressing or Cream of Four Mushrooms Soup. Top-up $4.90 for Coffee/Tea & Pastry.

Our pasta was decent with a tom yum-like sourish tinge to it. Though the chicken was a tad dry, we like its spices seasoning and also the cous cous, and green chilli sambal verde that accompanied it.

Overall not too bad, and very affordably-priced for lunch.

Some other popular items includes Crab Cakes ($13) with tomato-chilli jam, Seafood Cartaccio ($28) in coconut prawn broth, and Pink Risotto ($22).

Beetroot is used to give that natural, vibrant pink hue so no worries about added artificial coloring. The creaminess and cheesiness of the risotto got a tad surfeit after awhile but with grains that were evenly cooked to a firm bite, it was still enjoyable nevertheless.

I had my fair share of scallops that was over-cooked, so was glad the ones here were seared just nicely.

Service was earnest and friendly. The month-old Epiphyte still come across as unpolished in some aspects, but this is certainly a promising start. It'd be interesting to watch what will spurt up next after Twilight and Terrarium to keep us interested and coming.